Liddell Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have joined forces to acquire U.S. rights to the Glenn Close vehicle “Albert Nobbs,” from director Rodrigo Garcia (“Mother and Child”). The two companies are planning on a fall release this year. Both companies teamed for the release of last year’s Oscar-nominated “Biutiful.”

The film finds Close reprising the role of Nobbs (a woman passing as man in order to work and survive in 19th century Dublin), which she portrayed in Simone Benmussa’s play “The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs” Off-Broadway in 1982. Her performance netted her an Obie Award.

Liddell Entertainment and Roadside Attractions have acquired all U.S. rights to “Albert Nobbs,” directed by Rodrigo Garcia and starring five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close as a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Dublin. Close won an Obie Award in 1982 for playing the Nobbs character Off-Broadway in Simone Benmussa’s theatrical interpretation of the same George Moore novella that the film is based upon, “The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs,” and she has been passionate to bring the character to the screen for almost 30 years. The New York Times raved of Close on stage, “The performance is transforming.” Industry pundits already rank her among those likely to be vying for an Oscar this season.

Rodrigo Garcia (“Mother and Child”) directs “Albert Nobbs” from a script that Gabriella Prekop, Man Booker prize-winning novelist John Banville and Glenn Close wrote based on a story by Istvan Szabo, adapted from the Moore novella. “Albert Nobbs” marks Close’s first screenplay credit, as well as her feature film producing debut. The film also stars Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Brendan Gleeson. Producers are Glenn Close, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn and Alan Moloney. Production companies are Trillium Productions, Mockingbird Pictures and Parallel Film Productions, with support from WestEnd Films and Chrysalis Films, as well as the participation of the Irish Film Board. The director of photography is Michael McDonough, the production designer is Oscar-winner Patrizia Von Brandenstein, the transformative make-up is by Oscar-winner Matthew Mungle, the editor is Steven Weisberg, the costume designer is Pierre-Yves Gayraud, and the composer is Brian Byrne.

The domestic deal was announced jointly by Mickey Liddell of Liddell Entertainment and Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff, Co-Presidents of Roadside Attractions. The two companies will co-venture on a fall 2011 release, as they did on this past year’s Oscar-nominated “Biutiful.” WestEnd is handling international sales.

“Glenn Close appears in nearly every frame as Albert Nobbs, and her performance is masterful,” said Liddell. “This is an intimate film full of big ideas in the tradition of “Gosford Park” and “Sense and Sensibility.”

d’Arbeloff added, “This great story about a woman forced to hide in plain sight will resonate with contemporary filmgoers. Glenn Close is one of the true leading ladies of American cinema, and her vision for this film is incredibly inspiring.”